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Opinion: Fearing a stock market crash? These are two strategies for surviving them

Research highlights the use of bonds and options to mitigate a decline in the stock market

(Photo by Pratya Chutipaskul/AFP via Getty Images)

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What portfolio changes should you make if you’re worried about a black swan event?

By “black swan,” I’m referring to the phrase popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in a 2007 book, “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.” Black swans in the stock market are sudden, unpredictable and rare — like a market crash.

Given these distinguishing...